Student Loans: Bad Solution to an Even Worse Problem

Whenever I talk to anyone about college and the student loan crisis the only logical argument that I hear is “people who go to college make more money than people who don’t”.

Side Note: College tuition rises every year yet the earnings of someone with a bachelor’s degree in 1970 is higher than 2013? hmm.

Ultimately, this is where that argument comes from. The Federal Reserve of NY published an article back in 2013 outlining the pay difference between earning degrees and not earning degrees over the years.

So, on the surface everyone I talk to would be correct. Going to college outweighs not going to college by at least $20,000.

Give Yourself a 6 Figure Salary to Pay Off Student Loans Fast

In 12 weeks you’re a software developer, earning a 6 figure salary, and did not apply to a single student loan.

Picture this in your head.

It sounds almost too good to be true but if you’re interested in learning a skill that will only become more valuable over time then you should keep reading.

Seems like coding bootcamps have been popping up in different places all over the country lately and my favorite by a long mile is App Academy.

In 12 weeks you learn all the skills needed to become a web developer. Their program focuses on intensive and hands-on group based projects.

And here’s the kicker:

You don’t need any prior knowledge of programming for coding bootcamps!

My favorite part about their website is that they say you need “a tenacity and passion for building cool stuff”.

That’s the most incredible line on their site.

We get so many emails daily from people looking for a purpose in life and wanting to do more than just break even every month. The world is changing at an alarming pace and programs like this are just the tip of an enormous iceberg.

LinkedIn recently published an article that Software Engineering open positions grew 13% in 2017 and are expected to keep growing. So much that it’s one of the 20 most promising jobs of 2017.

One writer referred to App Academy as potentially “much too intense to be fun”.

In terms of time spent in the coding bootcamps, students are in class from 9am-6pm, but taking into account work being done from home before class and time spent after class to study, it ranges from 9-13 hours per day of time spent programming.

Learning a 6 Figure Skill is More Affordable Than You Think

App Academy believes in something they call commission based tuition.

Essentially what that means is that they won’t get paid until you land a job.

You can can elect a 100% deferment plan, 100% upfront plan, and a hybrid of the two.

I believe programs like App Academy and a commission based tuition model can be the future of education, especially in the STEM field.

In fact, this also removes the banks completely out of the picture.

Look:

Despite the cost, you’re paying for a guaranteed result, given that you put in the necessary work. You’re not paying for amenities, fun classes, partying or anything else.

You’re paying to learn a skill that can give you an unlimited earning potential.

As a result, investing in yourself to acquire high level skills can provide a sense of freedom in job selection and salary throughout your life which transcends any “positive” result from a standard 4 year university.

Investing in technical skills throughout your life is more beneficial than what’s being taught in a standard 4 year university.

Why are we spending so much time and money at traditional universities if all of the learning happens in the real world?

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About App Academy

At App Academy, we invest in your success. This means that we don’t charge tuition for the course until you get a job as a developer. This forces us to be extremely thoughtful about every step of our program; from the way we structure our admissions process, to the way we determine what to teach and how to teach it. Every piece is affected by our investment in you

Fully Succeed or Fully Refund

We’re seeing the start of an educational revolution providing new options for students.

Universities are subsidized by well intentioned families and the banking systems that were bailed out in 2008. The US government rewarded them with $29 trillion dollars.

Market demand is not forcing the rise of tuition costs. High interest loans given out by banks to desperate students because they’re pressured to pay an artificial cost to universities is the reason we’re in debt.

According to the post, “Young people are pushed into this system by a society that places an irrationally high value on university degrees. Kids are told for their entire lives that if they study hard to get into a good school, there will be a great career waiting for them. For many young people this turned out to be a total lie.”

Universities have an incentive system to get as many people through the front door as possible. And, I’ve never seen anyone ask for a refund from a university so where’s the incentive to make sure students succeed or get the highest paying job?

Networking Opportunities: App Academy has over 700 alumni working at top companies and they host networking events for their graduates.

Interview Prep: Something that technical people tend to struggle with. They’ll help you make sure that you can showcase all your skills to your future employers.

Salary Negotiations: Wage gaps seem to be everywhere these days and it’s 100% in App Academy’s best interest to make sure you negotiate only the highest salary possible!

Job Assistance for Life: No matter when in your career. If you need job assistance, the people at App Academy will help you out for life.

Ironically, A college degree being the price of admission to a good job is starting to fail.

So, I want to hear how taking a course called “Demystifying The Hipster” at Tufts University which costs $50,000 per year to attend isn’t robbery.

Where students “Through developing their own standard of what it means to be a hipster, become experts and critics of hipster identity and culture”.

Wrapping This Up...

Talking to the people that make decisions at app academy, they say that not having a college degree comes with it’s own unique challenges when looking for a job but it’s not impossible.

Having a degree of any kind can usually help your case with potential employers and prior experience in technology can certainly go a long way.

Given the current education climate I think it’s worth giving programs like App Academy their fair shot.

It’s time people stand up for what’s happening in the world. Students are being taken for a ride and only a select few care to do anything about it.

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Comment below and let me know what you think about App Academy and if you would ever consider doing 12 week coding bootcamps!

Let’s keep the conversation going below..

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Author

Joel Oquendo

Find me on Twitter and let's talk! Mechanical engineer that left the corporate world to become a digital marketer and write about all things tech, leadership, and marketing. Usually writing on my laptop at a Starbucks for my personal blog The Smart Advice and the Director of Marketing here at StartupBros.

Thank you for reading the article 🙂 Student loans are getting out of hand and it’s getting easier for private banks to loan money to students and hit them with high interests 4 years later. The government provides subsidies to banks so they can loan money to students.